What Range of services does the modern locksmith provide?

The locksmith industry can be traced back to  ancient Egypt 2000BC, that's 4000 years ago,  where evidence of metal locks has been uncovered in recent digs, but the modern locksmith industry only really came into being in the 18th Century around the mid to late 1700's  when locks became more popular with the general public. Since then the locksmith industry has grown and grown and now in the 21st century it is a respectable business serving 1000's of customers every year.
However, many people and business are still unsure about what services a locksmith actually offers, with many homeowners and business owners alike believing that you only call a locksmith when you are locked out of your home or business when in fact a modern locksmith offers a full range of different services related to the security industry

Emergency 24 Hour Call Out

This is the service that everyone is familiar with. You lose your keys on a day or night out and return home to find out that you can't get in, what do you do? You take out your phone and search Google for a nearby emergency call out locksmith. Many people will simply type in "locksmith near me" or locksmith with their area i.e "Locksmith Heysham" if you're up in Cumbria. The problem here is that not all Locksmiths offer a 24 hour call out service, especially the older, semi-retired locksmith who has been in the industry for many years and doesn't want to be dragged out of bed a 4am because you're too drunk to keep hold of your house keys.
To avoid making numerous phone calls to different locksmith trying find one who is willing to come out it is in fact much better to make your internet search more specific such as searching emergency locksmith or 24 Hour Locksmith, because locksmiths promoting themselves for these search terms are usually the ones offering the 24 Hour Emergency Call Out Service.

Emergency Boarding Up

Many businesses and individuals believe that they need to call out a specialist boarding up company when they need a window or door boarding up, when in fact many modern locksmiths offer this as an additional service and are usually less expensive than dedicate companies who get a majority of their work from insurance companies so having the out of the blue call is a bonus, hence the high fees they charge.
It is much more cost effective to arrange your own boarding up company. It is also quicker as you can call someone local, whereas an insurance appointed boarding up company could be sent from miles away and may have dozens of jobs to do on the same night before they "get around" to you and some people/businesses have reported waiting between 6 and 8 hours for a boarding up company to arrive.
One PC repair shop based in Lancaster recently posted about their ordeal on social media where they called a national boarding up company at 3am after vandals smashed their window, they waited for the boarding up company all night until they finally rolled up at 9.30am the following morning - over six hours later- the thing is, the glazier had arrived at 8.00am, replace the glass and gone.
The company posted about their ordeal online after the boarding up company demanded payment  for the call out... The cheek of it! No of course they didn't get paid; they got ripped to pieces on social media instead.

Automotive Locksmith Services

Many modern locksmiths undertake multiple course and some also train as auto locksmiths learning to gain non destructive entry to vehicles, re-programme key cards, key fobs and other automotive based services.. Train Locksmith the UK's leading locksmith training colleague has recently started holding extra automotive locksmith training courses do to the high demand.
Of course if you end up locked out of your vehicle you'll need to make sure that the locksmith you call covers vehicles and that they are able to work on your vehicles make and model. A good search term is still "auto locksmith near me" or auto locksmith accompanied by an area.
An auto locksmith isn't just for gaining entry to your vehicle after you've lost your keys or locked your car with them in the ignition - we've all done that - but should also be used should you need a modern replacement key card or key fob, never go to your main dealer, you'll be charge 3 or 4 times more than an auto locksmith charges for exactly the same parts.
The modern locksmith covers a full range for services; these are just 3 of them. Many locksmiths also undertake security checks, lock replacements work for landlords, some provide and fit security grills for businesses too.
Some locksmith even supply and fit burglar alarms, door entry systems and supply and install CCTV systems for homes and businesses.